South Korea

Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 27, 2015

South Korea’s Constitutional Court strikes down ban on adultery, no longer making extramarital affairs a criminal offense. MORE

Feb. 26, 2015

Daejeong Journal; Chinese visitors have been flocking to city of Daejeong on South Korean island of Jeju, causing some residents to fear what amounts to Chinese takeover as tourists descend en masse, investors snap up land and China wields increasing influence over local economy; some locals harbor long-simmering resentments against China or fear being pushed out. MORE

Feb. 18, 2015

South Korea prepares to host Presidents Cup golf event, expressing excitement about igniting interest in sport among young people in their country; current rankings indicate that no South Koreans would earn one of 10 automatic spots, raising question of how popular event will be in Asia without a native son. MORE

Feb. 16, 2015

Yeongam Journal; Formula One racetrack in South Korean province of South Jeolla lies mostly unused after failing to bring surge in foreign tourism; hosted four Korean Grand Prix races before being dropped from Formula One calendar; some see hope in country's burgeoning racing scene and say venture is not complete loss. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

Former Korean Air executive Cho Hyun-ah, who threw tantrum over how she was served macadamia nuts, is convicted of violating aviation safety law and sentenced to a year in prison. MORE

Feb. 10, 2015

South Korean appeals court sentences former intelligence chief Won Sei-hoon to 3 years in prison for using his office to smear rivals of Pres Park Geun-hye during 2012 election; Park, who has taken political hit for conviction, won by only 3.5 percent or 1 million votes. MORE

Feb. 5, 2015

Uber asks South Korean government to register its drivers, part of company's efforts to continue to operate in country despite legal challenges; company's South Korean unit and its chief executive Travis Kalanick were indicted by South Korean authorities in 2014 for violating local transportation laws. MORE

Feb. 4, 2015

South Korean Army sergeant, identified only by his surname Yim, is sentenced to death for killing five soldiers in his unit and wounding seven others in shooting rampage in June 2014. MORE

Jan. 30, 2015

South Korean Pres Lee Myung-bak says in his memoir that he rejected North Korea's demands for $10 billion aid package in exchange for talks in 2009, because he wanted to break pattern of rewarding North simply for agreeing to talk; book is scheduled for publication in February 2015. MORE

Jan. 25, 2015

Some North Korean defectors are at forefront of efforts to smuggle South Korean soap operas into North, pointing to themselves as examples of how such television programs show disparities between two countries; North's leader Kim Jong-un has struggled to balance opening country enough to keep top loyalists happy while preventing influx of material contradicting government propaganda about inferiority of South and capitalism. MORE

Jan. 23, 2015

South Korean Supreme Court rules to uphold nine-year prison sentence for Lee Seok-ki, former lawmaker who was arrested in 2013 and convicted of treason. MORE

Jan. 18, 2015

Adoptee Solidarity Korea, group formed by Koreans who were given up for adoption and ended up with families overseas, most in United States, has lobbied for legislation in South Korea that has reduced flow of Korean children out of country; group's success has led to similar movements in other nations, all of them questioning concept of international adoption. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

South Korean journalists Choo Chin-woo and Kim Ou-joon are acquitted of defaming Park Ji-man, brother of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, in case seen as test of freedom of speech; reporters were sued after speculating that Park had been involved in a murder. MORE

Jan. 14, 2015

South Korean prosecutors say they have arrested Hwang Sun, erstwhile member of defunct left-wing political party, on charges of flouting anti-communist law with supporting remarks about North Korea. MORE

Jan. 13, 2015

South Korean Pres Park Geun-hye calls on North Korea to engage in negotiations regarding topics that will further reconciliation, such as allowing families divided by Korean War to reunite. MORE

Jan. 11, 2015

South Korea deports South Korean-born American Shin Eun-mi over supportive comments she made about her trips to North Korea; law prohibits her from returning to South Korea for five years. MORE

Jan. 11, 2015

North Korea says it will temporarily halt nuclear tests if United States cancels its joint annual military exercises with South Korea. MORE

Jan. 7, 2015

South Korean Defense Ministry says North Korea apparently has made 'significant' advance toward constructing nuclear warhead that can fit onto long-range missile capable of reaching West Coast of United States. MORE

Jan. 2, 2015

South Korean exports grew 3.7 percent in December over year earlier; exports for 2014 set record high of $573.1 billion. MORE

Jan. 1, 2015

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un addresses nation in New Year's speech, saying he is looking to improve relations with South Korea and is willing to sit down with Pres Park Geun-hye; analysts question whether Kim's overture is genuine. MORE

Dec. 31, 2014

Seoul court orders arrest of former Korean Airlines executive Cho Hyun-ah for assaulting flight attendants and disrupting their duties on flight to New York in December; reports of episode stirred public anger in South Korea, where Cho is a scion of wealthy family. MORE

Dec. 30, 2014

Japan and South Korea announce they will share military intelligence about North Korean missile and nuclear weapons programs, along with United States; defense analysts say pact is small but symbolic agreement bringing together estranged Asian allies. MORE

Dec. 24, 2014

Wealthy Chinese tourists, especially women, are flocking to South Korea to undergo plastic surgery; South Korean government is actively pushing to make country a destination for medical tourism, dominated by its well-known plastic surgery industry; procedures range from minor, like double eyelid surgery, to extreme, like facial restructuring. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

South Korea lodges appeal with World Trade Org against United States' placing of antidumping duties on imports of steel pipes; US and South Korea can still negotiate to settle dispute despite appeal to WTO. MORE

Dec. 20, 2014

Constitutional Court of South Korea dissolves three-year-old United Progressive Party and removes party's five lawmakers from parliament, determining that group's violent rhetoric against democracy and in support of North Korea violates constitution. MORE

Dec. 19, 2014

Group of prominent South Koreans have started signature writing campaign to help Japan win Nobel Peace Prize for constitutional provision that renounces war, hoping international recognition for Japan's pacifism will curb Prime Min Shinzo Abe's tilt toward nationalism. MORE

Dec. 17, 2014

Government investigators say South Korea is likely to order suspension of some Korean Air flights following incident in which company executive Cho Hyun-ah made passenger jet return to gate over her displeasure with how a snack was served on board; suspension would be based on aviation laws banning onboard disturbances that could endanger passenger safety. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

Sales of macadamia nuts are soaring in South Korea in wake of incident on Korean Air Line flight involving daughter of airline's chairman, who threw tantrum after nuts were improperly served to her on a flight; sales of macadamia nuts went from 5 percent of market to nearly 50 percent. MORE

Dec. 13, 2014

Cho Yang-ho, chairman of Korean Air Lines, strips his daughter Cho Hyun-ah of all titles she held in family conglomerate; he also apologizes on South Korean television for her behavior in throwing tantrum over bag of nuts served to her on an airplane; she promises to apologize to airline crew for her behavior. MORE

Dec. 13, 2014

Geneva talks between United States and China that would have reduced global tariffs on $1 trillion on high-technology products collapse; accord breaks down in middle of face-off between China and South Korea over liquid-crystal display television screens; China has rebuffed appeals from US and Korean negotiators, and even from head of World Trade Organization. MORE

Dec. 13, 2014

South Korea rejects International Olympic Committee's suggestion to share 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games with Japan in effort to reduce cost. MORE

Dec. 12, 2014

Editorial urges South Korean Pres Park Geun-hye to develop vision for reunification with North Korea; holds that reunification, while positive prospect in many ways, is being given up by South Korean youth as irrelevant or too costly; urges Park to seize opportunity to keep dream of reunification from fading. MORE

Dec. 10, 2014

Cho Hyun-ah resigns as head of Korean Air Lines' flight service after media uproar in South Korea over her behavior on flight when she was served macadamia nuts; she ordered that jet return to gate and had senior flight attendant removed from plane; she is daughter of chairman of conglomerate that runs airline. MORE

Dec. 3, 2014

South Korea approves construction of 30-foot tower shaped like Christmas tree near border with North Korea, move that is likely to antagonize the North; tower will be built by conservative Christian group. MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

South Korean government and company officials report that fifty-two crew members remain missing in western Bering Sea after company's trawler sank. MORE

Nov. 21, 2014

Kim Han-sik, chief executive of Cheonghaejin Marine Company, is convicted of accidental homicide and embezzlement and sentenced to 10 years in prison; ferry belonging to company sank in April, killing more than 300 people in one of South Korea’s worst disasters in decades. MORE

Nov. 15, 2014

South Korea's transport ministry suspends Asiana Airlines' flights between Incheon, South Korea, and San Francisco for 45 days as penalty for 2013 crash that killed three passengers. MORE

Nov. 12, 2014

Captain Lee Jun-seok is sentenced to 36 years in prison for deserting South Korean ferry and its passengers in fatal crisis but is acquitted of murder, infuriating family members of some of the victims of country's worst disaster in decades. MORE

Nov. 10, 2014

Judges are expected to announce verdicts and sentences in South Korean ferry accident that killed 304 people; prosecutors are demanding death penalty for ship's captain Lee Jun-seok and life sentences for ship's chief engineer and first and second mates, who have all been charged with murder; other 11 crew members face lesser charges. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

Study published in New England Journal of Medicine points to overdiagnosis of thyroid cancer in South Korea; finds that number of diagnoses escalated as screening became popular, and newly detected cancers were almost all very tiny ones. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

Yoo Dae-kyoon of South Korea is convicted of embezzling nearly $6.8 million from seven companies controlled by his family, including Cheonghaejin Marine Company, which operated Sewol ferry that sank in April, leaving more than 300 people dead; Yoo is sentenced to three years in prison. MORE

Nov. 6, 2014

Op-Ed article by Dartmouth professor of medicine H Gilbert Welch on findings published in New England Journal of Medicine that there is an epidemic of overdiagnosis of thyroid cancer in South Korea; asserts that having doctors not look too hard for early cancer is in one's interest. MORE

Nov. 3, 2014

Professional baseball is thriving in South Korea, where it remains most popular spectator sport; festivities in the stands are both raucous and organized to a degree that American fans might find startling. MORE

Nov. 2, 2014

Photos taken by Stephen Mallon document sheer size of Prelude, offshore natural-gas refinery being constructed for Shell in South Korea that is more than 530 yards long and 80 yards wide. MORE

Oct. 31, 2014

South Korean court orders Japanese company Nachi-Fujikoshi Corp to compensate dozens of Koreans who were forced to work in its factory during Japanese colonial rule of Korea from 1910 to 1945. MORE

Oct. 30, 2014

Educational Testing Service, company that administers SAT tests around world, says it is withholding scores for thousands of Chinese and South Korean students following cheating allegations; announcement comes just days before early application deadlines for most American colleges and universities. MORE

Oct. 30, 2014

Skin care products from South Korea, where beauty standards focus on face, are finding a strong following in the United States. MORE

Oct. 29, 2014

Divers discover body inside sunken ferry, bringing to 295 number of victims from South Korea's worst peacetime disaster in decades. MORE

Oct. 29, 2014

South Korean court convicts two counterintelligence officials for fabricating Chinese government documents to build a spy case against a refugee from North Korea; conviction is latest blow to the image of country's National Intelligence Service. MORE

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General Information on South Korea

Official Name: Republic of Korea
Capital: Seoul (Current local time)
Government Type: Republic
Population: 49.05 million
Area: 38,022 square miles; about the size of Indiana
Languages: Korean, English is widely taught in schools
Year of Independence: 1945
Web site:Korea.net

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